Player Ratings: New England Revolution at Sporting Kansas City

After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the New England Revolution players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This week Sean Donahue and Julian Cardillo contributed ratings for the New England Revolution’s 3-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City.

Matt Reis – Average Rating: 6 (Sean 6.5, Julian 5.5)
A few shaky moments early, but Reis made huge saves all night only to be let down by a flatfooted defense. (Sean) … Made some big saves, even when Kansas scored. The defense hung him out to dry on rebounds and on other occasions. (Julian)

Chris Tierney – Average: 3.75 (Sean 3.5, Julian 4)
First goal is on him. Gave Kamara all the time in the world to settle the ball and make the pass that set up Zusi. Some questionable decisions to leave his mark in the other goals as well. Passing was inconsistent. (Sean) … Seemed to struggle with when to go forward or just defend. Crosses not as good as usual and passes were off the mark too often. (Julian)

Stephen McCarthy – Average: 3.5 (Sean 3, Julian 4)
It’s tough to be too hard on McCarthy, the red card was harsh, but his ejection cost the team the game and he can’t take that risk as the last man back. (Sean) … Unlucky to be called for red card, it looked like a yellow at worst. (Julian)

AJ Soares – Average Rating: 4 (Sean 4, Julian 4)
Flatfooted like many of his other defenders. Caught ball watching on the rebounds leading to the goals. (Sean) … Did what he could next to Joseph, but struggled to organize the defense. Didn’t get to rebounds when he should have. (Julian)

Kevin Alston – Average Rating: 4.25 (Sean 4, Julian 4.5)
Had a good late cross, but often cut inside when the Revs needed width and left the Revs exposed at the back. Could’ve done better closing Sinovic on the first goal. (Sean) … Did well to get forward and was a bit better coming back to defend. But continues to, at least once in a while, let players run into open space he should be covering. (Julian)

Kelyn Rowe – Average Rating: 4 (Sean 4, Julian 4)
Often stayed back to cover for Alston. Defensively struggled with Sinovic when he came forward – allowed the former Revs defender to get behind him in the build-up to the second goal. Struggled to make an impact offensively. (Sean) … Didn’t really ever get involved in the game. Looks frustrated with the speed of MLS and his inability to generate chances. (Julian)

Shalrie Joseph – Average Rating: 3.5 (Sean 4, Julian 3)
Some sloppy play early with a bad giveaway, but did fairly well as the game went on after switching to center back. (Sean) Continues to hold onto the ball too much or give the ball away foolishly. Seemed to really struggle with basic, technical moves. Have to applaud him, however, for playing as a center back. (Julian)

Benny Feilhaber – Average Rating: 4.25 (Sean 4, Julian 4.5)
Should’ve put his first shot on frame. Failed to make an impact offensively after the red card. (Sean) … Also seemed frustrated. Did okay to find his teammates, but they were usually marked. Didn’t do much to create chances. (Julian)

Clyde Simms – Average Rating: 5.5 (Sean 5.5, Julian 5.5)
Should’ve done better with his late chance, but otherwise a solid performance. Rarely turns the ball over. (Sean) … Did well to track back and get involved in attack. Had some chances to score, some of which he took better than others. Great effort on the game overall. (Julian)

Lee Nguyen – Average Rating: 5 (Sean 5.5, Julian 4.5)
The Revs offensive spark for much of the match. Helped create some chances and always looked the most likely to make something happen. (Sean) … Drew some good fouls, though he wasn’t able to work himself into the penalty area or create. Got caught running into teammates every once in a while. (Julian)

Saer Sene – Average Rating: 3.75 (Sean 3.5, Julian 4)
Not a target forward and didn’t look fit enough to make an impact. (Sean) … Didn’t make much of an offensive impact. Sometimes caught in the defense’s half. Wasn’t much of a target and didn’t get on the end of anything. (Julian)

(sub) Ryan Guy – Average Rating: 4.5 (Sean 4.5, Julian 4.5)
Got forward for some good late headers and look good going forward, but let Sinovic slip past him to set-up the third goal. (Sean) … Calmed the midfield down a bit by switching the field more and holding the ball, but was unable to contribute anything offensively. (Julian)

(sub) Diego Fagundez – Average Rating: 4.5 (Sean 4.5, Julian 4.5)
Hard to expect much from Fagundez given the situation, but he worked hard. (Sean) … The effort was there, but he can’t do it on his own. He needs players around him to win the ball and keep it. As a result, he wasn’t really allowed a chance. (Julian)

Jeremiah White – Average Rating: 4.25 (Sean 5, Julian 3.5)
Showed some promise with his pace. (Sean) … Some bursts of speed, but they didn’t seem like they were controlled. Struggled to connect passes. (Julian)

6 Comments

@Joe,
Player ratings have long been a part of professional soccer and are used to encourage dialogue about players. They are, by no means, an end all, be all assessment. Rather, we post them to create discussion. In fact, we open our comments section to our readers for this express reason. So, feel free to fire away!

McCarthy should be given a 10 for taking that red card like a sportsman. That was a terrible decision by the ref. The Revs may or may not end up being a better team this year, but the poor refereeing certainly seems to be rearing its ugly head again. I hope the refs truly understand the impact of their decisions. The Revs definitely should’ve stepped up, which they didn’t but it was an atrocious call.

I wonder if Heaps’ strategies will start paying off soon. Especially his desire to have a formidable home record. He needs to communicate to the team the importance of playing at home, especially on the home opener and he really needs to hammer home the idea that they can make a name for themselves in the Eastern Conference this year if they start stepping up now. I have the utmost confidence in Heaps, but how will the players respond? The better question may be who will even play?!?!

I really felt for McCarthy after that call. After looking at the play over and over, it looked like an extraordinarly harsh call. And at that juncture of the game, a referee has to be sure that any card he issues is warranted. In my opinion, there’s no way you issue a red that early on that kind of play. It was a bold call. And by bold, I mean “absurd.”

We’ll see what the injury report looks like tomorrow, but if Barnes (who prob won’t be back this week) and Lozano can’t go, Heaps may have to go with Soares and Tierney inside the back 4 unless Lechner arrives ready to go for Saturday.

@Louie,
I would be surprised if they go with a 3-5-2. Heaps seems pretty intent on playing 4 backs for the time being. If Lozano, Barnes and Lechner are unavailable, it’s totally possible that we see a Polak-Tierney-Soares-Alston line Saturday.

About Sean Donahue

Sean Donahue serves as an editor and staff writer at New England Soccer Today. He has been covering the New England Revolution since 2002 for various publications. He has covered four MLS Cups, in addition to covering various international matches, including World Cup Qualifying and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He has done freelance work for the Associated Press and ESPN Boston.
In 2014, Sean co-hosted New England Soccer Weekly on AM 1510 WMEX in Quincy. He hosted Revolution Recap, a weekly radio program covering the New England Revolution and U.S. Men's National Team from 2005-2008. He is a member of the North American Soccer Reporters. Sean can be reached at nesoccertoday@gmail.com or on Twitter @SeanLDonahue